Southeast Alberta seeing ‘driest spring’ on record as fire risk reaches extreme

Ezarly spring is one of the highest-risk times for wildfires in the area, as dry vegetation can ignite quickly.

The wildfire risk continues to worse in southern Alberta as warm temperatures and low humidity settle in.

The wildfire risk is now rated as extreme across most of southern Alberta, according to Alberta Wildfire’s latest update.

“This is the driest spring that we’ve had,” said Cypress County mayor Dan Hamilton.

“We’ve had this drought for five or six years’ now, but this is probably the worst start of the summer,” Hamilton added.

The dry conditions, along with a mild winter, has created the perfect recipe for grassfires, said Deputy Chief Byron Fraser with Coaldale and District Emergency Services.

“There’s a layer of dry, dead stuff under the grass and that stuff can just burn and not even notice the green stuff in the ditch,” he told CTV News.

Multiple spring grassfires

Fire crews in Coaldale, M.D. of Taber and Cypress County have responded to multiple grassfires already this spring.

“We’ve recorded at least one grassfire every month of 2026,” said Fire Chief Jason Linton with Cypress County Fire Services.

“Typically, we wouldn’t see these types of conditions until at least the middle to more the end of June even into the summer months.”

In those conditions, fires can be fast-spreading and difficult to control.

The City of Lethbridge has issued a fire ban for its River Valley, while Lethbridge County, Cypress County, County of Newell and Vulcan County remain under a fire restriction.

A fire advisory has been put in place for County of 40 Mile.

“We’ve had a little bit of moisture the last couple of evenings - I’ve noticed my truck wet in the mornings when I get up - but it doesn’t make a difference.” said Troy Hicks, chief fire marshal with Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services.

“We need a significant amount of moisture.”

Unlikely

Meteorologists say that is unlikely for the foreseeable future.

“We’re not seeing a lot of confidence in any wide-spread precipitation in southern Alberta for the coming days or even week to 10-day period,” said Bobby Sekhon, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Although June is typically the wettest month of the year, Sekhon says it’s still too early to know if any rain will actually fall.

“There’s a likelihood of above normal temperatures for the coming weeks and into the summer,” he said.

So far this year, there have been 158 wildfires across the province. Eight are currently burning, but all are classified as under control.

With the fire risk not anticipated to drop anytime soon, fire chiefs across the region are asking people to be cautious.

“The common throwing cigarette butts out the window starts a lot of our ditch fires and just keep your yard cleaned up,” said Fraser.

“Clean leaves up, they’re usually a pretty highly flammable piece because it then travels into neighbouring places and makes a big fire.”

Calgary Forest Area

Friday, a Calgary Forest Area wildfire update was issued, describing the risk as “high.”

“Signs of green-up are evident across southern Alberta, indicating that vegetation is able to retain more moisture, making it less likely to burn,” it said.

“While this is a welcomed sign, there are still several weeks of higher risk as ample dry vegetation remains on the landscape. It is common to see an increase in wildfires at this time of year. Please do your part to reduce the number of human-caused wildfires.”

Since the start of 2026, there have been 16 wildfires in the Calgary Forest Area, but there are none active at the moment.

So far this year, there have been 158 wildfires across the province.

Eight are currently burning, but all are classified as under control.

To visit the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard, go here.

A full list of fire bans, restrictions and advisories can be found here.